Forbidden Love
by Dreamstofly
Summary: He was her best friend..He had always been. But now it was just the two of them. No family, No friends. So will these distances from everyone bring them closer to each other in a way they had never imagined.
1. GoodBye

Chapter1

Note# although I really wish I did, I own none of the characters. They are all created by the ever so wonderful JK Rowling. However along the course of the story a few small characters may be added which are figments of my imagination. Hope you enjoy

**Two different personalities tied by one single knot-forbidden love**

She never knew what attracted her to him in the first place...Was it that in a room filled with people talking; he could still command attention with his silent and slightly brooding attire. Was it how she clung on to every word he spoke or that his voice was something different than she had ever heard? But this was wrong wasn't it? He was her best friend today...7 years after the very first time she met him...7 years together as friends and nothing more. Harry loved her...She knew that...But she also knew that he never loved her enough to be hers. He was Ginny's...he had been ever since they were 12. Who was she to come between relationships that had completed 3 years? But still today when she was moving to Italy with him for 4 years why did she feel like she could leave the whole world behind for this one boy? As they stood in front of everyone saying their goodbyes she knew that this move would do her good. She needed it; it was not that she did not love her family, her friends or even the Weasleys. She just needed to stop being Hermoine Granger-bookworm and go out there and see the world for what it was. That was exactly the reason she took the 4 year job in the Italian Daily Prophet as chief editor. Little did she know that harry was assigned to Italy for four year as a final part of his auror completion. And being the best friends that they were he thought it would be perfectly normal for them to share an apartment during their stay. As he hugged Ginny goodbye she could see the pain in his eyes and even though he was not sobbing as loudly and dramatically as Ginny she knew how much this separation was going to hurt him. She herself hugged Ron and promised to keep in touch...they made it a point to try to remain best friends even after breaking up. A two year long relationship could not come between such a long friendships according to her. It was not that she did not love him anymore; she had spent some of the most beautiful moments of her life with him. They just grew apart...Two people who unconsciously kept trying to change each other one day realized that sometimes compatibility is as important as love is. But even when it ended Ron and her wished that some day they would manage to work things out...Maybe that was another reason why these four years away was good for her. Harry and Hermoine took back a step and finally looked at the people they loved before apparating out to Florence-Italy

"Ready for this herms?"

"As ready as ill ever be"

"Four years away from home...This is gonna be interesting"

'You don't know how interesting' she thought

"Good thing I have my best friend with me" He said

All she could do was smile in return. She would never let her unexplained feelings come in between their friendship she decided. If it was a friend Harry wanted then she would be the best friend there was to be.


	2. Sweet Begininnings

When they arrived at the doorstep of the apartment building Hermoine could not believe how beautiful the location was. An entire side of the building was just covered in glass overlooking the canal. Their luggage had already been sent before hand and set up in the apartment. She looked at Harry and felt relieved to see that he was smiling now.

"Just going to stand here and admire the building or should we go up?" He suddenly asked her making her realize she was staring at him.

"Last person to reach the door buys dinner tonight"

As they opened the door to the house as walked in she could not help but imagine that she has stepped into a fairy tale. They had looked up this place before hand but not in one picture did it look this amazing. All of a sudden the next four years looked like it was brightening up already.

"So Harry any idea which room is yours and which is mine?"

"Well I thought you could have the one with the adjoining bathroom so I had your stuff set up there"

"Aww now aint you being such a gentleman"

"Hey now don't take that as though I don't want to see you coming out all wet in a towel" He flirted

She ruffled his hair as she always did and went onto look at her room. When she came back into the hall Harry was on the couch with two glasses of wine in front of him waiting for her.

"So heres to new beginnings and having to bear me nearly 24 hours a day"

They went through the whole bottle of wine just talking about their plans for the job and what all needs to be done for the house. It must have been the wee hours of morning when they went into their respective rooms and turned in for the night.

She woke up to the sound of Harry talking to Ginny on the phone the next morning and went into the kitchen to make them a cup of tea. When she checked her phone there was a couple of messages from Ron asking her why she couldn't call and that he needed to tell her something. Even though she tried not to think, it crossed her mind that not in one message had he asked her how she was or wished her luck for her new job. When Harry was done with his phone call he came out looking half asleep but instantly brightened up on seeing Hermoine with the pot of tea in her hand.

"You really know how to make my morning better Herms"

"7 years of being friends with you Harry, never seen you start one morning without a cup of tea"

He hugged her and proceeded to the dining table "So what plans for today"

"Well I was thinking of getting a bit of grocery done before we start work tomorrow"

"Oh that's nice ill come along and keep you company. Hey Herms can you make your amazing brownies today"

"I can, but u got to help me or else no brownies"

He put on his best baby face and looked at her

"Ha-ha Harry not going to work. Help me and I'll even let you lick the bowl"

"It's a deal then"

When they returned that evening after shopping Harry and Hermoine got down working on the double chocolate chip fudge brownies.

"Ok Harry, grease the pan with oil and line it with the baking paper"

"How much oil? And what's baking paper?"

"Yourl men will never learn will yourl?" Hermoine joked

Seeing that she was having a bit of difficulty stirring the mixture Harry took the bowl from her while she pre heated the oven. Suddenly when Hermoine turned Harry was right in front of her leaning in with his naughty expression.

"What you up to Mr. Harry Potter?"

"Nothing, just going to give you a chocolate nose" Saying this he put a bit of the batter on Hermione's face.

"You're going to pay for that missy. When you least expect it"

After putting the batter in the oven she sat and watched how Harry swiped the bowl like a little kid and realized that he had what she would call as his 'Food Smile'.


	3. The First Day As Editor

As the sun rose on Monday morning at Hermoines window she woke up trying to remember the dream she had the previous night. She knew it involved Harry but there was something about the dream that was making her smile even when she could not recollect it. However that was short lived as she looked at her clock and realized that if she wasn't out of bed that very minute she would be late for the very first day of work. She rushed into the washroom and got all freshened up and decided to go check on Harry to see if he was awake. She was not surprised to find him still sound asleep in bed.

"Harry! Harry! Wake up, you're going to be late for the first day of training" She said poking him

"Ugghh! Hermoine please 5 more minutes. I can't even the sun right now"

"That's because your sleeping with your curtains shut genius"

All of a sudden he tugged her and pulled her into bed and started snuggling into her

"See how comfy this is. Now why don't we just doze off for a while and wake up when we absolutely have to"

"Because we are two adults who have a job to go to Harry" She said as she slid out of bed

"Now wake up and come outside. I'll get breakfast ready"

"Hey Hermoine, Has anyone ever told you smell really nice?"

"Ha-ha must be the shampoo. Now out of bed you lazy bum"

When Hermoine finally got to the office of the Italian Daily Prophet she could feel the butterflies in her stomach. This was her first proper job after interning at the Daily Prophet back home for a year. She wanted to do well and as they were a newly started newspaper she would not only need to look into the editing but also advertising of the company. She went into the reception and introduced herself to a quirky little witch who escorted her to her office. She decided that she should first meet her secretary, the co editor and the photographer.

"Hi Maam, I'm Stella. I'll be of any help that is needed. I just got out of Hogwarts a year ago and started interning here as your assistant"

"There will be no maam here Stella, You can call me Hermoine. Could you get Rachel and Stephanie in with you so that we discuss how to go about work?"

The next couple of hours flew by in a flash as she laughed, worked and chatted with her three co workers. She felt as if she was finally going to be making friends who saw her for more than just her intelligence. Before she knew it Harry had given her 5 missed calls.

"Hey Harry, How you doing?"

"Herms! How's your day going? Are you enjoying? Are the people nice? Did you have lunch? When you going to get home?"

"Whoa there...Calm down Harry!" She said laughing "I'll be home in 20 minutes and we can sit and talk over dinner. What say we get some true Italian pizza tonight?"

Harry picked up their classic half and half pizza on the way home. Seafood for Hermoine and Meat Lovers for him.

He dint know why but every time he walked into a room where she was he would automatically smile. The way she could not fight with him for a long time and would just end up smiling while screaming at him. The way she took care of him but never thought of him as a baby. She was there with him right through the time he looked for Voldermot. Never once blamed him or questioned his motives. He always wondered why people called her a bookworm. She was funny, sarcastic, intelligent and very beautiful. It was a surprise that she did not have many men roaming around her. And although he never understood why but he was protective about her, not as a brother or as a boyfriend but in a much deeper way.

"So Harry, How was your first day of training?"

"These aurors really know how to make you work. It was the first day and we were in the dueling ground for about 3 hours. I don't remember the last time I had that many spells thrown at me."

"Aww poor little baby, Are you sure you're not hurt?"

"Don't worry I'm Okie" he smiled and reassured her "It's a relief not be The Chosen One anymore. I rather rough it up than be tiptoed around"

They sat and ate their pizza while joking around about their day and making plans for the week. They planned to go see the city over the weekend. Harry dozed of pretty soon after that but Hermoine was kept awake as Ron called and decided to argue with her for half the night instead of inquiring about her days work. She wondered if they could ever go back to being best friends.

Editors note# Thank You so much for the like's guys! It's always such a pleasure to hear that I've been added to a favorite list. The last three chapters have been about the deep friendship that Harry and Hermoine share. But I assure you we will see progress in the next few chapters. Do send me feedback through reviews. Would be much appreciated. Ciao


End file.
